It’s All About Perspective

As a safety officer, perspective is huge in helping you fulfill your job as successfully as possible. Why is having perspective such a big deal?

As a safety officer, it can be easy to focus on one issue and stopping people from causing the issue, rather than looking at the bigger picture and finding how to solve the problem.

For example, when you see people straddling an A-frame ladder, your reaction may be to tell them not to do that and to plan a safety training on how to use stepladders the correct way. While safety training is definitely beneficial, it may also be valuable to think about reasons why they are straddling the ladder in the first place, and then incorporate that into the training. In this case, the workers need to get a taller ladder or a ladder with a good work platform.

This same idea can be used if workers are using an extension ladder incorrectly. Often, extension ladders are being used when stepladders should, or vice versa. Incorporate the different types of ladders and when to use each one into your training.

Even if you know you have covered these things in previous trainings, make sure you find new ways to incorporate what you see into the training. Don’t be afraid to use specific examples of things you have seen and use them as lessons for your team.

As you prepare your trainings, always remember to have perspective and use this perspective in your trainings.